Expansible insulation unit



Sept. 29, 1959 S. BLUMENSTEIN EXPANSIBLE INSULATION UNIT Filed Sept. l.1955 INVENTOR. STANLEY BLUMENSTEIN ATTORNEY United States Patent O'2,906,655 EXPANSIBLE INSULATION UNIT Stanley Blumenstein, Whitestone,N.Y. v

Application September 1, 1955, Serial No. 532,040

5 Claims. (Cl. 154-45) This invention relates to insulating material,and is more particularly concerned with anV expansible multiple layerunit for insulating against the passage of heat, vapor and sound. Such amaterial is customarily installed in the bays or spaces between studs,beams, rafters or similar parallel spaced construction members inbuildings, vehicles or boats, etc.

Insulating material of the type with which this invention is concernedemploy thin sheets having heat reflective metal surfaces, in conjunctionwith air spaces adjacent them, to p-rovide heat insulation. Aluminumfoil is especially suitable for this purpose, although any suitablemetal may be employed, provided it possesses a low radiation factor,i.e. low surface emissivity.

Upon expansion of such thin sheets they bend readily and exert noappreciable force at their points of contact with the body lto beinsulated so that they ido not work loose from the body to which theyare fastened. There is a need for an insulating material of one or morethin metal foils which remain parallel to the major surface of the airspace which they insulate throughout the life thereof, and which willnot bunch up or collapse in spots to approach the physical condition ofa thick sheet with attendant heat transfer disadvantages and a gradualloosening of the sheet from the body to which it is fastened.

There have previously been other attempts at providing units toaccomplish insulating by use of expansible multiple layers, theshortcomings of such prior devices has been in their configuration.Different types of heavy paper slabs or sheathings have been proposed,one type comprising layers of corrugated sheets joined into a rigidunit, another type consisting of layers of sheets extending between thesupports of the building, all combining the non-transmissive value ofquiescent air with materials to which various degrees of insulationvalue are attributed.

In an attempt to obtain an insulating material having a plurality ofspaced thin metal sheets, it has been suggested to employ bracket-likerigid spreader elements to hold the sheets under tension longitudinallyso that they remain parallel. Obviously such a unit will have a shortli-fe since any appreciable outside pressure, shock or vibration willeither collapse or tear -the sheets. Furthermore, the requirement ofassembling and installing spreader elements with the sheets is .a veryobjectionable time and labor factor with the resultant problem ofrequiring inspection on the job `to assure uniformity in the amount oftension the various spreader elements apply to the sheets. Also, therigid spreader elements serve as avenues of heat and sound conductivity,and act to defeat the essential purpose of the insulating unit.

Another device which has been proposed provides two parallel metallicfoil sheets attached at each end to a triangular shaped bridging member.Due to such end supports in this type of a device, the middle sheet,i.e. a metallic heat reflective foil, does not extend completely acrossthe bay in installed position. Also, the sheets of foil tend to collapseand touch each other near the center due to the lack of any supportbetween the end members.. In either event the device loses itseffectiveness and does not prevent heat loss and sound loss towards theends of the sheets.

It has further been suggested to mount a pair of metal foils in spacedrelation by interposing an accordion plaited foundation of paper withthe plaits arranged longitudinally of the unit. While such aconstruction does maintain the metal foil layers in spaced relationship,the intermediate foundation l-ayer divides the intervening quiescent airspaces into triangular sections. This type of arrangement does not allowfor the maintaining of a uniform air space of an optimum width extendingalong every point adjacent the reflective surface, since theintermediate foundation contacts both foils at numerous placesthroughout its length. This optimum air spacing, eg. 1% inch for lateralheat flow, has been determined by many experimenters in the thermalinsulation field to be a value which cannot be diminished withoutmaterially decreasing the insulating value of the reflective air space.

There has thus been present a continuous and real need for an insulationunit which, when installed, provides continuously extending sheets whichremain parallel and are maintained -taut over the entire width of theconstruction bay to be insulated, and wherein the edges of theinsulation adjacent the construction members are not areas of weakthermal resistance. Such sheets could be of alternate low (e.g.aluminum) and high (e.g. paper) surface emissivity value.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an insulatingmaterial formed of a plurality of thin sheets having the same oralternately different surface emissivity values, which are spacedly heldapartin parallel relationship. It is a further object of my invention toprovide an insulating material formed of a plurality of thin sheetswhich are so constructed as to be suiiiciently rigid as a unit as towithstand the normally encountered outside pressures, when installed.and maintain the sheets taut and in proper spaced relationship. It is astill further object of this invention to provide an insulating materialformed of a plurality of thin sheets having alternately differentsurface emissivity values which will remain substantially indefinitelyin the form in which it is applied, even under the influence of normaloutside pressures, vibration and shock. Another object of my` inventionis to provide for the installation of continuously parallel sheets oflow, or alternately high and low surface emissivity, which cover, whileremaining parallel, the 'entire width of the construction bay to beinsulated.

Further objects and advantages will become readily apparent from aconsideration of the description hereinafter following and from theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and inwhich:

Figure l is a cross-sectional View of a portion of a wall having aninsulating unit partially installed according to the invention, with thethickness of the sheets and end portions slightly exaggerated in detail,

yFigure 2 shows the unit of Figure l in completed installation, v

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of theinvention in partial installation in a construction bay, and

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view showing the unit of Figure 3 in-completed installation.

In ordinary frame building construction itis common to space the woodframing members so that they are approximately 16 on centers. Variationsin materials, construction, or both, frequently result in variation inspacing amounting to an inch or even more, plus or minus, and thus thespaces between studs, which are ostensibly spaced 16" on centers, isactually 13% to 15%". When the unit of my invention is applied to theconstruction bays in such building Walls it is made with a Width ofapproximately 143/8". It is also quite common in construction to findspacings of 12 or of 24 on center, etc., and similar considerationswould apply as to the unit of my invention.

As used hereinafter, the term construction bay is intended to define thespace between studs, beams, rafters, etc. in buildings, vehicles, boats,etc. The term plait is intended to define a section of sheet having aplurality of folds. Also, as used above and as used hereinafter,

the word wall is intended to include within its scope a fioor or anycontinuously extending construction surface, e.g. ceiling.

In the insulation unit of this invention, the edges of the varioussheets are so plaited as to create a plurality of flanges or elements offlanges for enabling the attachment of the unit in the construction bayin a two stage operation. I have found that such a two stageinstallation ensures a mechanically rigid parallel spacing for thesheets with each one supported out of contact from the others and spacedtherefrom at different levels. The unit 1 shown in Figure 1 may be of awidth corresponding with the space between the studs 2 and 3 is shown asbeing partially installed in a building wall section having a siding orexterior wall section 4 and an interior wall or sheathing S. The sheetsshown in Figure 1 are exaggerated in thickness in order to make clearthe interrelationship thereof. The unit 1 includes a top sheet 6 whichserves as the reflective sheet and a support sheet 7, which may have oneor both surfaces reliective. The sheets 6 or 7 may be made of metallicfoil which is reflective to heat and has a low infra-red surfaceemissivity, e.g. aluminum of a thickness suitable for fabrication, or apaperfoil laminate. Such reective sheets will serve to stop bothconvection currents and heat rays from transporting heat across the bay.The support sheet serves to form the flanges and lend rigidity to thestructure and may be made of suitably treated paper, foil, plastic orcloth, or combinations thereof.

The top sheet has folds 9 and 10 at each end thereof. The support sheethas a double fold 11, 12 and 13, 14 at each end thereof. Referring tothe fold 13 (which is similar to fold 11), it is readily seen that thesides 14a and 14b of this fold receive the folded over end of sheet 6.These elements form a first fiange 16. The sides of folds 11 and 9 alsocooperate to form a similar flange 17. The sides of these folds whichform the anges 16 and 17 are affixed one to the other as by glue or anyother fastening means to hold them in assembly. The flanges 16 and 17serve as the means by which the sheet 6 is affixed to the constructionalmembers 2 and 3 to hold it taut. Means such as stapling are commonlyused to accomplish this step. Similarly the sheet 7 (which is shown inFigure 1 as being partially unfolded) has folds 18 and 22 (see Figure2). The sides 20 and 21 of fold 18 and the sides 23 and 24 of fold 22form second flanges 26 and 28, respectively. These anges are also inturn affixed to the constructional members 2 and 3 as a second step ininstalling the unit 1. This last step serves to stretch sheet 7 taut.

Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of my invention wherein, inaddition to the reflective sheet 6 and the space-dividing sheet 7', asecond reflective sheet 30 is used. Obviously, the number ofspace-dividing sheets 7' and additional reflective sheets 30, may beincreased to any number desired, although practical limitations as tocost and space in the bay will probably limit the number.

The top sheet 6 is identical with the sheet 6 of Figures 1 and 2, havingfolds 9 and 10 at the ends thereof. The space dividing sheet 7' has onlythe single folds 31 and 32 at the ends thereof. In this embodiment thereare support members 33 and 34 at the ends of the unit. There are alsomade of paper, foil, etc. The members 33 and 34 have the ends of thespace dividing sheet 7 atiixed thereto by glueing or other' suitablemeans. The supporting member 33 has a double fold 35, 36 at its upperend, and the supporting member 34 has a double fold 37, 38 at its upperend. In a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1, the sides of thedouble folds of members 33, 34 cooperate with the folded over ends ofsheet 6 to form first flanges 16 and 17. These flanges 16' and 17 serveas the means by which the sheet 6 is aixed to the constructional members2 and 3 to hold it taut. In Figure 3 both sheets 7 and 30 are shown asbeing partly unfolded. Sheet 30 has folds 39 and 40 at the ends thereof(see Figure 4). The supporting members 33 and 34 have folds 42 and 41,respectively, at the lower ends thereof. The sides of the fold 41 andthe sides of the fold 42 cooperate with the folded over ends of sheet 30to form flanges 44 and 43, respectively. These flanges 43 and 44 serveas the means whereby the sheets 7 and 30 are drawn taut, when they areaffixed to the constIuctional members 2 and 3.

It is thus seen from both of the embodiments described above that theinsulation unit of the invention embodies `two pairs of flange meanswhich are separably affixed to the constructional members in aconstruction bay to draw different sheets taut and maintain them inparallel spaced relationship, and extending across the entire width ofthe space to be insulated. Any desired depth or number of interveningair spaces may be designed into the unit, and it will be maintainedthroughout the width of the construction bay or wall space to beinsulated.

.It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that varioussubstitutions and modifications, such as further increasing the numberof stapling flanges, may be made in the above described preferredembodiments without departing from -the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An insulation unit adapted to be installed between a pair of framingmembers and a wall member forming a construction bay open only on oneend as viewed in cross-section, comprising a plurality of thin sheetswhich are to be maintained in fixed taut spaced relationship and atleast two pairs of flange means to aix said sheets in position from theopen end of said bay; a first of said sheets being a heat reflectivesheet to be afiixed in said bay opposed to the wall member, a second ofsaid sheets being a supporting sheet to be affixed in said bay outwandlyof said first sheet, said pairs of ange means being formed in part byfolded ends of the first and the second sheet and extending in adirection away from said wall and towards the open end of said bay, afirst pair of flange means which when affixed one to each framing memberis adapted to draw the first sheet taut in a plane normal to saidframing members, a second pair of flange means which when affixed one toeach framing member is adapted to draw at least the second sheet taut inspaced planar parallel relationship to said first sheet, said pairs ofanges being so constructed and arranged that they can be affixed to saidframing members from the open end of said bay, whereby a continuousuninterrupted air space of substantially uniform depth is establishedbetween said tautened sheets extending from onel framing member to theother.

2. The unit of claim 1 comprising a top and a bottom sheet, the topsheet being of a material having low heatray emissive surfaces andhaving single folds at its ends, `and the bottom sheet having plaitedends.

3. The unit of claim 2 wherein the plaited ends of the bottom sheet eachconsist 0f single lower folds and double upper folds, the upper fold ofa bottom sheet cooperating with a folded over end of said top sheet toprovide one of the anges of said first pair of flange means and thelower fold serving as one of the flanges of said second pair of flangemeans.

4. The unit of claim 1 comprising three sheets, all of said sheetshaving single folds at their ends, and including a pair of supportingmembers, the folded over ends of the 5 sheets being atxed each to one ofs'ad supporting members.

5. The unit of claim 4 wherein the supporting members each provide alower fohd and an upper plaited end, the upper plaited end of asupporting member cooperating 5 with a folded over end of the top `sheetto provide one of the rst ange means and the lower fold of a supportingmember coopera-ting with Kthe folded over end of the bottom sheet toserve yals one of the second ange means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSy LinesJune 6, 1933 Aschenbrener Apr. 10, 1934 Baldouf et al. June 19, 1934Benedict Dec. 14, 1937 Finck Aug. 5, 1941 Wiser June 5, 1956 Schwartz eta1. June 12, 1956

1. AN INSULATION UNIT ADAPTED TO BE INSTALLED BETWEEN A PAIR OF FRAMINGMEMBERS AND A WALL MEMBER FORMING A CONSTRUCTION BAY OPEN ONLY ON ONEEND AS VIEWED IN CROSS-SECTION, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF THIN SHEETSWHICH ARE TO BE MAINTAINED IN FIXED TAUT SPACED RELATIONSHIP AND ATLEAST TWO PAIRS OF FLANGE MEANS TO AFFIX SAID SHEETS IN POSITION FROMTHE OPEN END OF SAID BAY; A FIRST OF SAID SHEETS BEING A HEAT REFLECTIVESHEET TO BE AFFIXED IN SAID BAY OPPOSED TO THE WALL MEMBER, A SECOND OFSAID SHEETS BEING A SUPPORTING SHEET TO BE AFFIXED IN SAID BAY OUTWARDLYOF SAID FIRST SHEET, SAID PAIRS OF FLANGE MEANS BEING FORMED IN PART BYFOLDED ENDS OF THE FIRST AND THE SECOND SHEET AND EXTENDING IN ADIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID WALL AND TOWARDS THE OPEN END OF SAID BAY, AFIST PAIR OF FLANGE MEANS WHICH WHEN AFFIXED ONE TO EACH FRAMING MEMBERIS ADAPTED TO DRAW THE FIRST SHEET TAUT IN A PLANE NORMAL TO SAIDFRAMING MEMBERS, S SECOND SHEET TAUT IN SPACED MEANS WHICH WHEN AFFIXEDONE TO EACH FRAMING MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO DRAW AT LEAST THE SECOND SHEETTAUT IN SPACED PLANAR PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO SAID FIRST SHEET, SAIDPAIRS OF FLANGES BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED THAT THEY CAN BEAFFIXED TO SAID FRAMING MEMBERS FROM THE OPEN END OF SAID BAY, WHEREBY ACONTINUOUS UNITERRUPTED AIR SPACE OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DEPTH ISESTABLISHED BETWEEN SAID TAUTENED SHEETS EXTENDING FROM ONE FRAMINGMEMBER TO THE OTHER.